January 8, 2019
Do
you or have you ever struggled with self-image?
I recall a time when I was at my job and a co-worker called me
worthless. It wasn't just once that I heard
those words. I heard it several more
times from this person. I kept this to
myself – until now.
I
really had a difficult time going to work – for several years! One day, this person said it again, and I’m
sure the look on my face, or those prayers I had said, finally revealed to him
what he was saying, and he walked up to me and said that he never meant it, he
was just joking – all these years!
Really? I spent a lot of years
feeling like a crumpled up piece of paper laying in a mud puddle – discarded and
never worth anything. Worthless!
I
kept going to my job every day wondering why God would make me endure this
again. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. I loved the days this person was gone because I knew I would get through the day without hearing “you’re worthless”.
Let’s
do a little experiment. Go get a twenty
dollar bill, you know the new one you got from the ATM machine. It’s a nice and crisp one. How much is it worth? “Ah, Lisa, it’s worth twenty dollars”, you
say. Ok, now crumple it up into a tiny
ball and drop it into the toilet and let it sit there for the day. Is it still worth it to take it out of the
toilet? Does it still have value?
Maybe
this speaks more to you. Have you ever
found money laying on the ground? How
much did you find? Was it worth the
value that was printed on it when it was made?
I
couldn’t always remember this when I would go to work, but I would often have
this verse rattle around in my head; “So
God created man in His own
image. He created him in the image of God. He created
them male and female.” Genesis 1:27
God
created us
In
His image
Unfortunately,
sin, our disobedience, our not believing and trusting what God said and how He
is, caused us to become damaged and His image in us distorted. We became crumpled just like the money. We became dirty just like the money you
found.
“But God demonstrates His own love towards
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for US. Romans 5:8 (emphasis mine)
God
does not just throw us away because we are no longer perfect like Him. We matter so much to Him that Jesus came and
died to provide a way back to God for us!
So
when Satan used this co-worker to tell me I was worthless, I had to dig and
discover and believe that my worth was never lost with God! It was through believing that I learned to glory in my suffering (Romans 5:3-5). He is our loving Father waiting with open
arms for us to return to Him for forgiveness and to be made new!